Poland’s Intelligence Agency has officially started a unique recruiting process aimed at students by placing an ad in the newspapers.

The ad reads: “The Intelligence Agency is looking for graduates and students of political and social science, international relations, national security and oriental philology”.

A candidate for the secret agent should be Polish, a good citizen and patriot and must not be mentally ill or have a criminal record. It is preferable if she or he can speak at least two languages, says the advert.

The agency will check if a candidate has contacts abroad, what people they are surrounded by, where they work and whether they are addicted to alcohol or drugs.

It’s the first time that the Polish intelligence has been openly trying to reinforce its ranks. So far new staff has been recruited secretly at N.C.O.’s, during military training for university graduates, and in police.

“It’s more and more difficult to find employees in that way. Secret service in democratic countries, such as CIA and Mossad, recruit agents by putting advertisements in newspapers,” says Piotr Niemczyk from the office for State Protection.

The recruiting process at the Intelligence Agency is very complex and time consuming. “We check if a candidate has certain psycho-physical skills necessary for this kind of job,” says Niemczyk. The agency does not want to reveal how much an officer earns. (mg)